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Israiph
History The Israiph's exact date of arrival is unknown, although it is presumed to be a couple of centuries before the Death of Magic. What is known, however, is that they adapted well to the magic around them once they settled in. Their empire in the deserts of Keiria were once overflowing with magic-fueled objects and machines, granting them a life of luxury and peace. With no need for war or strife, their seemingly perfect empire looked down upon the rest of the world. Of course, when magic went away, their lives crumbled beneath them. Famine was rampant, plagues spread like wildfire, and civil war erupted as the Israiph had to once more struggle for survival. As the years turned to decades, only the strongest came to survive in the remnants of their old towns. However, life never seemed to be the same for them, and they were desperate to reclaim their pampered lives. As the decades turned to centuries, they began to preform crusades across Tessanis in an effort to gather enchanted artifacts from the ruins of the old world. A noticeable divide emerged, and the Israiph seperated into two cultures, the traditional Cailfi, and the diplomatic Mailbe. In the past century, the Mailbe preformed a mass migration out of their desert homelands, and traveled to Ebonfort. Their expertise in salvaging resources and dating lost ruins granted them a warm welcome. Now, with rumors of magic returning, though, it seems the Cailfi are once more beginning their tech crusades. Reports come in from the edges of Ebonfort of Israiphs bearing the insignia of the Cailfi preforming violent excursions in search of magical artifacts, and aurists who can verify them. Biology Israiph have a strange anatomy. They only have a singular gender, which accordingly contains both sets of reproductive organs, meaning they are intersexuals. For another, their anatomy, physiology, and general appearance tends to become altered, seemingly changing into a different species as they age. This is usually referred to as gaining a "skin". At birth, they lack any sort of skin, and instead are covered in a soft, wet membrane, which requires constant hydration. Their first skin begins to grow at the start of childhood, and is a more firm tissue, capable of lasting longer without being watered. This skin is often considered mammilian in appearance, and has about the same resistance of such. Next, puberty comes in, and alongside the usual developments a human or other humanoid race goes through, they grow their second skin. This skin is reminiscent of a reptile's, being hard and scaly, and is said to be more resistant to cuts. They also grow their first hair, although it is more akin to flexible spines. From then on, they don't grow anymore skins until they reach an elderly state. Then, they begin to grow what is more identifiable as hard chitinous plating, insectoid in appearance, and considred impervious to most damage. Most Israiph, however, will die either before they finish growing their final skin, or very soon after. Appearance At birth, Israiph are almost entirely identical, and usually grow from the size of an orange, to the size of a watermelon. At childhood, though, they begin to actually grow an identity in the form of their first skin and body shape.This skin most commonly comes in shades of white and pale tan, however darker colorations aren't uncommon. Throughout this, they'll grow to about the average height of a human, at around four and a half fet. At puberty, they develop further, solidifying their appearance, and growing spine-like hair, which is usually black in color. Here, they can grow to over double their old height, at around eight or nine feet. Their scaly skin has much more variety, capable of ranging between numerous shades of brown, green, red, and yellow, with blue being an extremely rare variant. The hard skin they grow at the end of their lives comes primarily in black and dark browns, and they once again begin to appear identical in body shape. Here, they can grow to whopping sizes of eighteen or even twenty feet. Most Israiph will appear adrogynous in both facial and bodily structure, although it is not unheard of for some to appear definitively masculine or feminine. Their eyes can come in any sort of coloration, but their sclera is always black. Common Traits The only common traits Israiph usually share are in growing different skins as they age. Psychology Surprisingly, Israiph can have extremely varying psyches, to the point that it seems like there is no singular trait they share. However, it does seem that a desire for ancient treasures, and a sense of nobility, are common traits, depending on the originating culture. Reproduction Generally, they reproduce the same as an average race, such as humans. There doesn't seem to be much in the ways of courting a mate or even preforming the deed. Although they are capable of picking up on the idea and process of romance, they don't quite understand the notion of it. Israiph also aren't all that selective in choosing a mate, and sometimes even aren't against the idea of having multiple mates. Very rarely, however, do they decide which mate is the "father", and which is the "mother", and as such almost all involved are impregnated. After a couple of months, the Israiph will travel to an area of shallow water, and lay clutches of as numerous as 20 hardshell eggs, where they watch over them until they hatch. After which, they begin to care for them at the water side until they all begin to grow their first skins, and thus no longer require constant hydration. Only then will the family move on. Rejuvination There is an alternative to reproducing that many Israiph prefer, which returns them to a younger state. This is achieved through a week-long process in which they first shed all of the skins they have grown, and shrink in size. During this time, though, they devour numerous amounts of food, and make shelter in a damp location. Once this is over, they are reverted to the size they were as a child, and enter hibernation for another few days as a new skin quickly grows over them. When they awaken, they will appear as a child at the start of puberty. Despite rumors, most Israiph, when reborn, can have appearances that vary extremely from their previous form, and rarely will they ever retain memories naturally, as usually they will come back in the form of vague, vison-esque dreams. Society Israiph can be divided into two cultures, the Cailfi and Mailbe. Although there are other minor cultures, these two are the most talked about. Cailfi, however, seems to be a "truer" culture of the Israiph, as Mailbe is more of a blend between Israiph traditions and the common traditions of Ebonfort. Cailfi Years of hardship and struggle have resulted in those who stayed in the Israiph homelands to form a "survival of the fittest" ideal. Despite this, they refuse to accept the reality of their situation, believing they can still revive the old ways once magic returned. Supposedly, all of the magical artifacts they gathered would power up, and they would once more rise to glory. Social Structure To reflect on the hard times they fell upon, the social structure is very "might makes right", to the point of almost being savage. Leaders are based upon their experience, age, and dedication to the goals of the culture. Cutthroat competition is promoted as a way of breeding the most focused leaders, and both dasdardly plots and bloody usurpings are commonplace. Language The common language of the Cailfi is the same as it was during the Israiph empire's prime, Saeran, albeit with some minor alterations. Saeran is often remarked as being coarse on the throat, and containing many hisses. It is very hard to pronounce without having the proper vocal organs and mouth the Israiph and certain reptile-like races possess. Names Old Israiph names tend to contain at least one apostrophe, and use as little vowels as possible. Outside of that, though, there is very little complexity. Family Life "Family" is both a very loose and strong word among the Cailfi. Blood ties mean nothing, as you'll probably cut said ties and spill said blood more than once. Although, the Cailfi as a whole are your family, and under certain circumstances, they'll treat eachother as such. They have very few, if any, traditions that alter their family life, though. Everyday Life To any common man from Ebonfort, life in the Cailfi can seem pretty average, if not with added danger. The more mundane lifestyles of workers, civilians, and traders are normal enough. It's when you get into the lives of those who work for the military and government that things get more dangerous, as the average worker in these fields has to both watch their backs for anyone trying to sabotage them, as well as come up with ways to sabotage others, all in the name of achieving a higher rank, and furthering the goals of the mighty Israiph Empire. Mailbe During the first crusades for magical artifacts, a group of Israiphs splintered off, being more welcoming of the new world than their cousins. As tensions grew between them and the Cailfi, the Mailbe began a mass migration into the neighboring region of Ebonfort. There, they almost entirely assimilated into the cultures already existing. Though, enough traditions from the Israiph still remain to create this culture. And of course, they aren't any less dangerous than their brawny cousins. Although, they instead choose to resort to cunning and guile to achieve the goal of gaining nobility and positions of power in Ebonfort's society. Social Structure The Mailbe generally lack a social structure, save for the eldest and most experienced being considered superior. Aside from that, they have completely submitted to following the social order of Ebonfort. Language Although most Israiph in Ebonfort have resorted to using Common and whatever languages they live around, they have created their own language, known as Caimeian. Caimeian is a blend of Saeran and Common words, creating a language that lacks verbal hisses, and is easier to pronounce for non-reptillian races. Names Israiph in Ebonfort keep the rule of using apostrophes in names, although have dropped the complicated use of vowels to make things easier on the neighboring races. Family Life Everyday Life Character Sheet Details Racial Bonus: +30 in a Martial Arts of your choice, Scavenging, or Archaeology Achieves adulthood at 20 years. They can live to up to 500 years, although are practically capable of immortality via Rejuvination.